Women score decisive win in home opener

Melita Emanuel-Carr led all players with 15 points against Bradley. Photo: Timothy Nguyen

The UIC women’s basketball team (1-0) went on a 32-6 run over 12 minutes to open the second half and maintained its lead the rest of the game for a 71-43 victory against Bradley (0-1) in its season opener at the UIC Pavilion Friday night.

The Flames are back at the UIC Pavilion for a 4:30 p.m. tip-off Monday against Northern Illinois.

Sophomore Melita Emanuel-Carr matched her career high and led all players with 15 points, followed by junior Terri Bender with 14 and redshirt junior Ruvanna Campbell with her 27th career double-double of 11 points and 16 rebounds.

The Flames pulled in 53 boards, including 24 on the offensive end, to generate 14 second-chance points. The Braves committed 24 turnovers, which UIC converted for 26 points.

UIC led Bradley for nearly 14 minutes in the first half before the Braves tied the score at 18-18 with 4:04 on the clock. The Flames quickly regained the lead after a pair of free throws from Emanuel-Carr and entered halftime with a 28-24 advantage.

UIC was held to 11 baskets in the first frame, while Bradley went 7-for-23. The bench made key contributions in the first 20 minutes, with redshirt sophomore Marissa Grossfeld (5), redshirt freshman Teodora Zagorac (4) and redshirt sophomore Kendyl Nunn (3) coming in to score 12 points.

After UIC and Bradley each scored a bucket to open the second half, the Flames broke away with 15 unanswered points and a 30-2 run that took them into the final 10 minutes of the game. UIC’s largest lead came at the 4:27 mark when Emanuel-Carr made her fifth free throw of the night to give the Flames a 69-36 advantage.

UIC combined for 43 points in the half, with every player who saw minutes making a contribution, while the Braves shot 27.3 percent (6-22) and tallied 19 points to end the game.

The Flames are back at the UIC Pavilion for a 4:30 p.m. tip-off Monday against Northern Illinois.